Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) Insider Sells $686,406.12 in Stock

Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) insider Jake Schlicher sold 3,138 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.74, for a total transaction of $686,406.12. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 9,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,075,842.60. The trade was a 24.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Jake Schlicher also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, August 28th, Jake Schlicher sold 5,177 shares of Ferguson stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.92, for a total value of $1,195,472.84.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FERG traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $222.95. 1,358,631 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,685,467. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Ferguson plc has a 52 week low of $212.13 and a 52 week high of $271.64. The firm has a market cap of $43.13 billion, a PE ratio of 26.20, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $229.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $234.51.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $3.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.23 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $8.75 billion during the quarter. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 37.24%. On average, equities analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 11.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st were issued a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.83%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ferguson

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FERG. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in Ferguson in the 2nd quarter worth $1,789,368,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,107,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,424,075,000 after purchasing an additional 125,317 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 1.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,619,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,100,474,000 after purchasing an additional 48,544 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 9.2% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,868,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $668,809,000 after purchasing an additional 240,666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 0.8% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,055,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $487,796,000 after purchasing an additional 16,866 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on FERG. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Ferguson from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Melius Research started coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $252.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Ferguson in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Ferguson from $252.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.07.

About Ferguson

Ferguson plc (NYSE: FERG) is a North American distributor of plumbing and heating products, supplying professional customers across the residential, commercial, industrial and infrastructure markets. The company serves contractors, builders, remodelers, municipalities, industrial businesses and other trade professionals through branch locations, distribution centers and digital ordering platforms.

Its product offerings include plumbing supplies and fixtures, heating and cooling equipment, water and wastewater products, fire protection systems, waterworks materials, industrial piping and related maintenance, repair and operating supplies.